Shredable and splitable wax accelerant impregnated fire tinder

ABSTRACT

A fire starting implement in where the fuel source is an unadulterated piece Red Western Cedar Bark is impregnated with a secondary fuel source that acts as an accelerant. The combination of Red Western Cedar with Paraffin wax or other wax based accelerant creates a fire starter that is easily manipulated by hand or by tool. The final product can be split into smaller pieces or be pulled apart and shredded into finer strands. The fire starting implement created from this combination creates a highly weather resistant and versatile fire starter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I, Eric James Brender of 5401 Hinman Drive Cashmere, Washington, have created a unique shredding and splitting fire tinder that acts on the principles of naturally occurring impregnated sap wood in flammability, but with versatility not present in naturally occurring resinous wood. By artificially impregnating the wood bark that normally does not contain high amounts of resin. Combining the attributes of splitting easily as well as being able to be shred and fluff the bark wood with ease, have made an item with versatility, dependability, and reproducible results.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the functional art of fire starting, and making it extremely easy to do so. This invention specifically addresses the need for a functional, capable, and more versatile fire starter than mixed wax & wood chips/sawdust, cardboard & wax, or chemically derived fire starters.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Typically, if a person were to find wood impregnated with a natural resin, it would be called Fat Wood. Fat Wood, is an impregnated piece of wood that has been naturally filled with resin to protect a harmed or diseased tree. The resin is filled with flammable Turpin. Turpin has been used for quite some time to create turpentine. In nature though, it creates a flammable fire tinder which is completely natural. To find resin impregnated wood, you must venture into a conifer forest and search for dead or injured trees, it will be sticky to the touch and difficult to split. It has a distinctive smell of Turpin which is quite pleasant to most people.

The problem with finding this natural Fat Wood, is that it requires what is sometimes a demanding effort to find, and the results can be quite varied. A person can sustain injuries from misuse of gathering tools such as axes and hand saws, and can be injured further by the conifer wood which is typically hard to split and manipulate without practice.

Unlike it's natural cousin, “Fat Wood.” Fire starters are not new to the market place, where it has been flooded with all shapes and sizes of chipped wood/sawdust mixed with paraffin wax, as well as fully chemically derived fire starters. The main problem with today's fire starters is their lack of versatility when it comes to creating a fire lay for each and every situation. Blocks of sawdust filled with wax, or blocks of chemical fire starters offer little in what they are capable of doing. They are unable to easily split and shave down, they are very difficult to attach to another object in case of the need for an illuminating torch, as well as their deterioration over time.

In all the aforementioned respects, the present invention brings a substantial difference in quality, ease of use, functionality, versatility, and consistent results. Allowing it to do more, weigh less, be easier to use, and have incredibly long shelf life under all normal and some abnormal circumstances.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to get away from the lack of functional fire starting implements for use within a household and in the wilderness to start a camp fire, a new fire starter has been created, that splits, shreds, and fluffs easily and is impregnated with it's own accelerant. This fire starting implement can be ignited with the use of a match, lighter, burning charred material, or the now popular ferrorcerium rod. The nature of the materials used makes it extremely lightweight and easy to pack. It can function as a very large match, be broken down into multiple smaller match-like sticks, shredded with your fingers or with a knife, and fluffed into an easily ignitable tinder source. It can be cubed into smaller pieces using a small saw to be used in camp stoves as a fuel source, as well as if left in it's native state, be attached to a larger pole or stick and used as a torch to illuminate a dark area if used in the proper environment, as this product will produce flame. Due to the water repellent nature of paraffin wax used in it's current embodiment, it also adds a weather resistant property to the wood as well as flammability.

It is to be understood that in describing with the phraseology and terminology in the description beforehand and herein after are for the purpose of describing the invention as well as possible to be understood as plainly as possible, and should not be regarded as limiting. As the aforementioned product has been described, it is very versatile, but this is not to limit it's versatility to just such applications. It also must be noted that the SHRED-ABLE AND SPLIT-ABLE WAX ACCELERANT IMPREGNATED RED WESTERN CEDAR BARK FIRE TINDER will now be referred to as Fierce Fire from this point on to ensure easy readability of this document. The product Fierce Fire, which is referring to it's commercial name, has many applications beyond previous statements, but to give appreciation to it's uniqueness, some of it's features have been outlined.

It must also be noted that the dimensions can be altered in size to meet specific needs that will be noted herein after.

A size reduction of length can be used in small survival tins or pocket sized applications for keeping tinder in bags with smaller dimensions that product packaging but are created specifically for this application in order to maintain a water barrier seal of wax.

Length, width or both of these characteristics may be changed for applications such as starting barbecues, forges, or other applications that require the use of a flame to ignite another fuel in awkward to reach places.

May be increased in size to create handles for ferrorcerium rods or larger split-able pieces of wood to use as a splitting block of impregnated wood.

These are just a few applications in which changing the dimensions of the Fierce Fire would become applicable and would not constitute a new invention by doing so. The uniqueness of using a lightweight wood that splits uniformly while artificially impregnating it with an accelerant and/or fuel source is what makes this such a unique and valuable invention.

Creation and Process of the Invention

To achieve this functional product, a proper piece of wood must first be established as the material in which will be later impregnated with an accelerant in this case is paraffin wax; paraffin wax was selected as the cleanest and most functional secondary fuel for use with this product, but other waxes such as beeswax, soy wax, or other fuel sources are viable and have the potential to be used in creating Fierce Fire. The bark used in the current embodiment of, Fierce Fire, is that of the Western Red Cedar tree which if properly selected has very straight and easy to split fibers.

Once the piece of properly seasoned wood is selected, it must be cut to the size to be used, E.g. 6.5″. Once it is cut to length, it must then be processed into pieces that the end product will be marketed as. Fierce Fire in it's current configuration is cut to 6.5″ in length and has varying widths due to it's slightly curved shape as it is made from the bark of a tree. Pieces may be hand split or fabricated with a jig and hydraulic splitting machine.

At this point, the wood is transferred into a container of hot liquefied wax, paraffin wax is used currently in this application, at a temperature of 295 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature when used with paraffin wax creates a viscosity which is thin enough for the wax to seep into the wood, without creating excess smoke by overheating the wax. The vessel to to impregnate the wood can be that of a container in which can plunge the wood into full submersion, or for a deeper impregnation, the use of a pressurized vessel can be utilized. After the blanks have been fully submerged in the paraffin, they must stay at this temperature, fully submerged for three hours in it's current embodiment.

After submersion, they are lifted from the vessels into the cooler air where they are allowed to drip the excess wax from their outsides. Before all of the wax can drip free, they are placed to dry on a rack where the remaining wax will apply a thin outer layer of wax for additional protection from the elements. They are then allowed to cool to relative indoor temperatures where they can then be packaged.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The illustrations will also show how the wood can split easily into smaller pieces or be torn and shredded into an easily ignitable tinder. The invention will be called by it's current sale name, Fierce Fire, when describing it.

FIG. 1 shows the Fierce Fire as a whole from an angle showing the distinctive structure of the thread like bark of the cedar, in this instance, the Red Western Cedar.

FIG. 2 shows the Fierce Fire's ability to easily split into smaller pieces using a tool, such as a knife.

FIG. 3 shows The Fierce Fire's ability to be shredded easily, and how it peels from the product and shows The Fierce Fire cut into cubes, as it is dense enough to maintain it's structure while sawed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Now, to fully represent unique aspects of the process and the nature of versatility of the wood, we turn to the drawings for a better understanding.

FIG. 1 shows the invention of SHRED-ABLE AND SPLIT-ABLE WAX ACCELERANT IMPREGNATED RED WESTERN CEDAR BARK FIRE TINDER which we will from here on refer to as Fierce Fire in it's most common shape and size, and shows the straight fibers 10, as well as how the fibers like to naturally pull in strands 12 from the split piece. Not every piece is exactly uniform to one another, and has slight variances 14. FIG. 2 shows how it may be split with a knife 20 or other hand tool of your choosing, to be broken down into pieces of different sizes 22. FIG. 3 is representative of how Fierce Fire may be broken down into different forms. When the fibers are pulled from Fierce Fire it can be broken down into individual stands that create a fluffy and easily ignitable version of the material 30. It can also be broken down by other means with tools such as hand saws to create small cubes 32, which allows for increased burn time to be used in camp stoves.

From the understanding gained reading the description along side of the drawings, it can be seen that Fierce Fire, makes for a more versatile fire starter than what is currently being offered today, and enriches the fire starting community with another valuable resource, and in many ways, a superior fire starter, but most importantly versatile. It is to be noted that in it's current embodiment, it is very mobile and will be used in many handheld applications of fire starting. Although it's dimensions may vary to suit the end-users application of choice. The Red Western Cedar combined with a wax based accelerant form a combination of properties, that when combined are those of the current invention. 

I claim:
 1. To impregnate the bark of the Red Western Cedar with a heated accelerant wax such as paraffin or beeswax which in turn after cooling the product, creates a weather resistant and easily manipulated fire starter that has the ability to split, shred, and be fluffed while maintaining it's high flammability and long burning nature.
 2. I claim the process of super heating paraffin wax to a high temperature in excess of it's normal low working temperature to acquire a viscosity that easily impregnates the cedar bark. 